The Trail Blazers lost their sixth consecutive game to the Cleveland Cavaliers Sunday night, 106-94, as reigning MVP LeBron James scored 41 points and the Blazers crumbled down the stretch at the Rose Garden.

James made his first eight field goals, had 20 points in the first quarter and had 31 by halftime, when the Cavaliers led 64-49. A second-half rally by the Blazers fell short, however, and James nearly finished with a triple-double (41 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists).

Here's what Blazers coach Nate McMillan had to say during his postgame news conference with reporters:

What was the difference down the stretch?“It comes down to making plays. I think they had about three offensive rebounds. We had some stops and I think there was one possession when they had one, two, offensive boards in a row. And (we had) some breakdowns where we started to double team LeBron (James) when we could get to him. Now it’s just if they miss some shots. And I thought the kid (Jawad) Williams hit a big three, so you’re trying to force some things to happen. And when you force the miss, you gotta get the (rebound) and of course, you gotta go down and score.”

What worked in the second half when you made the comeback?“I thought they certainly came out as the aggressors. And LeBron was just unbelievable. You normally don’t make adjustments in the first quarter. His 20 points came so fast. I think he had about three possessions where we didn’t get in front of him and he was at the rim and then he hit some threes and before you know it, he had 20 points. We wanted to double team, but we couldn’t get close to him to do that. And I thought we came out the second half and played the way we play. We started to scrap and we got our traps going and were able to get in transition and get some movement and get back in the game.”

You ran more help at LeBron in the he second half, though, didn’t you?“Yeah, we could get to him the second half. I thought that first quarter, he pretty much just was in an attack mode, got to the basket; I think he had two or three threes at that time, and some of them were off the ball. They weren’t running isolation plays for him in that first quarter. He was just making shots and one thing we could have done better was get help over to him when he was penetrating.”

Are you more upset because it felt like this game was in reach or are you happy because the team never gave up?“Well, we didn’t play to stay close. I thought the second half, we had a better half. The first half, I thought they came out like a team that had dropped one (at Denver) and had respect for what we had done (against the Lakers). They came in here ready to play and jumped on us right way. We didn’t give in the second half and got ourselves back into the ball game with an opportunity to win it. Then it comes down to making some plays. I thought (Anderson) Varejao was huge coming in off the bench. Their bench was really good with Williams and Varejao getting offensive boards and knocking down some shots.”

How would you describe LaMarcus Aldridge’s season so far?“We know that he now is in a position where he has to be that guy who’s establishing us in the post. And both he and Brandon are the guys ... we were going to start the season playing through, but we’re certainly going to play through (them) now. And we need him more than ever on the defensive end of the floor because (we’re) without our centers. He’s a big key to what we want to do.”

Making the All-Star game is such a big deal to him. Seems safe to say he’s not going to make it. Have you guys talked about that and what’s next?“I’ve had conversations, basically, about where we are. Because it’s changed. At the beginning of the year (we) were looking for something different from him. And then when Greg (Oden) goes out it changes again. And now when Joel (Przybilla) is out he’s playing a lot of center for us. Even though some teams are matching up with (a power forward against him), he’s got to be that guy who defends the basket. So it’s changed in a sense for him, so yes, there’s been conversations about that.”

Was it difficult tonight for you guys to find a consistent second scorer behind Brandon Roy?“Well, a lot of those guys are getting shots off of Brandon’s double teams. And when we’ve been able to make those shots, we’ve had shots at winning the game. And I thought Brandon was able to make shots. But when they are committing two (defenders) the rest of the guys gotta make shots.”

The starters played a lot of minutes. Was that just because that’s what was working?“Yeah, that’s what was working for us.”

Is there a concern about playing them too much because of all your injuries?“Well, of course there’s a concern. But these are the guys that we have. And to give us the best chance to win, you try to give them a rest and when you feel that game is close or about to get out of reach, you gotta go with the guys who are going to give you a chance. And that’s forcing us to have to play guys a little longer. And if our guys can come in; tonight (Jerryd) Bayless didn’t have his eye and (Steve) Blake is coming off of pneumonia and, so, our bench wasn’t as good as they’ve been. But it’s just the situation we’re in.”